Prince Player(40)
I kiss him back, desire flooding me. I have a new energy, maybe because of this place, but I want him so badly. I want him to fuck me right here, fuck me right over that altar. I know that I’ll get pregnant if he does it, as sure as I know anything else in this world. I don’t know how or why, but I need it so badly.
As his hands start to roam down my skin, there’s a sound from over near our car. Nolan breaks off and we watch as three more cars pull into the clearing. They’re large white vans, and as soon as they’re parked, people with cameras jump out and come jogging out toward us.
“Fuck,” Nolan says.
“What’s happening?”
“Paparazzi,” he says, grabbing my hand. “Come on.”
He pulls me along. We start jogging back toward the car just as the paparazzi begin to snap photos. Nolan doesn’t even look at them, he just charges straight ahead, dragging me along behind him. He almost levels one photographer who tries to get in front of him, but fortunately the guy jumps out of his way at the last second.
We barrel ahead as the men yell things at us. I don’t understand most of it, since they’re yelling in Polovian. But as we get to the car, I head one English phrase.
“Go back to America!”
My head snaps toward the guy who said it, and he starts taking pictures. Nolan grunts and moves him aside, practically throwing him out of the way. He pulls open the door to the Tesla and I climb inside.
He shuts the door and walks around, shoving one guy out of his way. He climbs behind the wheel, starts the engine, and begins to pull out. The paparazzi move reluctantly, and soon we’re back on that road, heading away from the stones and the cameras.
“Fucking scum,” Nolan says, more to himself than to me.
“What was that?” I ask him.
“The media. They love the fucking royals, so of course they try and ruin a nice afternoon.”
“How did they know where we were?”
He sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t fucking know. Someone at the castle leaked it, I’m sure. I’d guess Julian, but I have no proof.”
I frown and look out the window. The guy telling me to go back to my country pops back into my mind.
He does have a point. I don’t belong in Polovia. I’m a total stranger to these people.
We ride back to the castle in silence, but I can’t stop hearing that one phrase, over and over again. I keep seeing the stones and hearing that phrase, and it’s all so alien to me, so foreign, that I know I don’t belong anywhere near it.
I don’t know what to do. But I signed a contract and I’m married now. So for better or for worse, I have to see this through.
17
Nolan
“Don’t engage him, Nolan.”
Andrew frowns at me from behind his desk as I shake my head, furious and barely controlling myself.
“They were aggressive,” I say.
“They always are.”
“But Hazel wasn’t prepared. You should have seen her face. One of the fucking assholes even told her to go back to America in English.”
Andrew’s frown deepens. “In English, huh? I didn’t know those vermin could speak more than Polovian.”
“Neither did I.”
“Apparently they’re evolving.”
“That, or Julian made them memorize a phrase.”
Andrew sighs and leans back, spreading his hands out. “You have no proof of that.”
“Do I need proof? We both know it was him.”
“Maybe.” He hesitates. “But he still has power here.”
“Why?” I demand, suddenly furious. “Why does anyone follow that fucking joke?”
“Because they don’t have a good alternative yet,” Andrew says softly. “You know that.”
“And I need to be that alternative.”
“Yes,” he says. “So go back to your room. Spend time with your new pretty wife. Don’t do anything fucking stupid.”
“Right.” I stand up and nod at him. “Good talk.”
He sighs again. “You’re not going to listen, are you?”
“We’ll see,” I grunt at him before waving and leaving the room.
The whole fucking castle is afraid of Julian Eder, everyone except for me. I don’t know why they’re so fucking terrified. Julian is a pathetic excuse for a man. He’s crafty, that’s definitely true, and he does have a wife and some kids. Those things count for something. But he’s weak and sniveling and was a fucking crybaby when we were kids. I hated Julian back then and I can’t say I like him any better now.
I don’t know what happened to this court since I left. Back then, the strongest were rewarded. Julian was always picked last for games because he was weak and pathetic. Instead of trying to improve, he always just whined and ratted us out to our parents for bullying him. The little shit constantly made things worse for himself, all because he couldn’t grow up and get a little tougher.